118
“My treasure?”
Geonho tilted his head and stared intently at Siwoo. When asked to show his treasure, he just looked at Siwoo as if trying to pin him down with his gaze. Finally, unable to wait any longer, Siwoo added an explanation.
“You know, the thing wrapped in newspaper. You said it was your treasure.”
“Oh, that.”
Geonho chuckled and immediately got up from the bed, retrieving an object wrapped in newspaper from a drawer tucked away in the corner. Siwoo looked up at Geonho with curious eyes.
“Is it okay for me to see it?”
“Sure, why not?”
Geonho returned to the bed and sat down next to Siwoo. Leaning their backs against the soft headboard together, he began unwrapping the newspaper from his treasure. Unlike how he handled other objects, he removed the covering quite carefully.
“You wrapped it really thoroughly.”
The layers of newspaper seemed endless. Siwoo observed the thick newspaper gradually thinning out, his cheek pressed against Geonho’s arm.
“You’ll probably laugh when you see it.”
With one last layer remaining, Geonho smiled bashfully.
“I won’t laugh.”
“No, it’s okay if you do. I’ll laugh too.”
The smile on Geonho’s face grew more distinct. As the treasure hidden within the thick newspaper was revealed, Siwoo’s eyes, with his hand on Geonho’s forearm, widened slightly.
“This… is your treasure?”
Geonho glanced at Siwoo’s expression and nodded, laughing heartily.
“Funny, right?”
Geonho held his treasure closer to Siwoo. Though he spoke lightly, it was clear he was holding the treasure firmly with both hands to prevent it from falling. It really must be his treasure.
“Did you get it when you were young?”
What Geonho was holding was an ordinary picture book. And one with cat pictures at that.
“Probably. I don’t know who gave it to me. I’ve just had it since a long time ago.”
His thick fingertips caressed the cat wearing a red hat on the cover. The protagonist decorating the book’s cover was a black cat with red eyes. The cat, with a haughty expression, was holding a wide-brimmed red hat the same color as its eyes.
“There’s not much to the story. It’s about this cat going on an adventure to find its family.”
Geonho opened the cover and showed a few pages of illustrations. It was a book consisting only of pictures, without any text.
“Looking at it just makes me feel good. I wrapped it in newspaper because it was getting worn out from how much I’ve looked at it.”
It seemed he hadn’t opened it in a while, as he flipped through the pages with a nostalgic expression. He turned each page slowly and carefully.
“Why don’t you know?”
Siwoo, who had been gazing steadily at Geonho, slowly opened his mouth.
“Hm?”
“Why don’t you know who gave it to you?”
Geonho’s gaze, which had been on the picture book, turned to Siwoo. Siwoo quietly met Geonho’s red eyes, which resembled those of the book’s protagonist.
“It’s a long story.”
Geonho closed the book and lightly brushed his eyebrow with his thumb.
“I hardly have any memories from the past.”
“…”
“I don’t know what my parents look like, or what my brother looked like when he was young. It’s not in here.”
Geonho tapped his temple lightly and chuckled.
“I think my brother probably erased it.”
Siwoo’s pupils trembled slightly as he listened calmly.
“That must be it. Either as punishment for all the trouble I caused, or… well, for some other reason.”
Geonho shrugged his broad shoulders and looked down at the picture book cover. As if it wasn’t such a heavy story. He spoke nonchalantly, as if it didn’t matter to him either way.
“Whatever the reason, it must have been for my sake. That’s for sure.”
He spoke these last words with conviction. His eyes held sincerity.
“How do you know that?”
Geonho made an expression as if Siwoo was asking something obvious.
“Because he’s my brother.”
At his confident voice, Siwoo closed his mouth and nodded silently. Geonho, alternating his gaze between Siwoo and the cat in the book, chuckled and continued speaking.
“And this might just be my imagination, but I think my brother used to read this book to me.”
“I thought you said you don’t remember.”
“I don’t, but it sometimes appears in my dreams.”
Geonho scratched his forehead, adding that it might not have been his brother.
“The voice explaining as it turned each page sounded similar to my brother’s.”
He looked at the picture book for a moment before placing it on the bedside table along with the newspaper. It was almost time for him to leave.
“If you can’t eat, don’t force yourself. You’ll hurt your throat if you keep throwing up.”
Concerned about Siwoo until the end, he lowered his feet to the floor. Time had passed disgustingly fast. He needed to get up, but it was hard to leave the bed due to regret.
“Eat a lot when you’re with me. Until your stomach bursts.”
Geonho laughed, playfully tapping Siwoo’s slim stomach with the back of his hand. He wanted to touch Siwoo’s face but held back.
“From now on, I won’t touch you without permission.”
Geonho murmured in a serious tone, his smile fading. He seemed to still feel guilty about kissing Siwoo impulsively.
“I’ll never do anything to make you uncomfortable. I swear on my brother.”
His hand, which had been hovering around Siwoo, pressed firmly on the bed sheet. He really needed to get up now. If he was even a minute late, his pager would start buzzing loudly.
“…s’okay.”
At that moment, Siwoo muttered very softly and grabbed Geonho’s hand. It was barely more than a movement of his lips, so even Geonho, an Esper, couldn’t hear it.
“What?”
Siwoo glared at Geonho before turning his head to the side.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
Geonho leaned his upper body towards Siwoo, staring at the white hand holding him. As he begged Siwoo to repeat it once more, a shallow sigh escaped.
“Kissing… is okay.”
It was still a tiny voice, but this time it was properly conveyed. Geonho just stared at Siwoo’s lips, which were opening and closing, at a loss for words.
“It’s mucosal guiding, right? Anyway, just holding your hand doesn’t lower your wavelength much.”
Siwoo, who had been mumbling earnestly, trailed off. He couldn’t continue speaking because Geonho had come close enough for their noses to touch.
“Then can I do it now?”
Despite his cautious voice, his lips were already almost touching. He looked ready to do it even if Siwoo said no. Of course, he wouldn’t actually do that.
Siwoo lowered his gaze and gently lifted his chin. At the same time, a soft sensation gently pressed against his lips.
Kang Geonho’s lips were as soft as before. Those smooth lips rubbed against Siwoo’s flesh before his tongue peeked out, licking his teeth as if knocking.
Siwoo tightened his grip with both hands and opened his mouth as if opening his body. Geonho dove into that gap, trapping Siwoo’s thin body between his arms.
Every time the wet flesh rubbed and stirred the narrow interior, strange sounds spread. Siwoo clung to Geonho’s shoulders, scraping the sheets with his heels.
“Hm, mmm…”
Strange sounds kept escaping from his throat. However, Siwoo had no time to pay attention to his own moans. Even breathing was difficult right now.
He didn’t know that kissing while sober would be this challenging. Geonho was ravaging the inside of Siwoo’s mouth as if trying to pull out his tongue root.
Let me breathe, you bastard.
With his tongue tied, he couldn’t even make a sound. The guiding was being sucked out so intensely that he even forgot how to breathe through his nose.
But he couldn’t push Geonho away either. He didn’t have the heart to reject someone who was pouncing on him like a person eating their first meal after days of starvation.
Still, you need to let me breathe.
Siwoo, whose chest was just swelling with the heat filling his mouth, cupped Geonho’s cheeks. Geonho immediately opened his eyes and blushed as he saw Siwoo blinking slowly at him. The intention was to pause for a moment.
“Hah…!”
Instead, the tongue pushed in even deeper. Geonho tilted his head and even pressed their bodies together. Hot body heat transferred from their tightly pressed chests and lower abdomens. Siwoo, with the back of his head firmly pressed against the soft headboard, was surprised by Geonho’s heavy weight and pulled at his cheeks.
“Haa…”
Finally, their lips parted. Geonho looked down at the panting Siwoo while exhaling a long breath. He licked his wet lips as he watched Siwoo’s chest, which had swelled greatly because of him, contract and expand again.
“Slowly… do it slowly.”
“Okay.”
After waiting for Siwoo to breathe sufficiently, he sucked on his lips again. He savored the flesh that stretched like rice cake, entwining their writhing tongues and embracing Siwoo’s thin body.
Ziiing-
At that moment, a loud vibration sounded from Geonho’s pocket. It was a warning tone indicating he had exceeded his allowed time. Ah, I knew this would happen.
Geonho frowned one eyebrow and fumbled in his pants pocket. He didn’t let go of Siwoo’s lips until he turned off the noisy pager.
“I have to go.”
After licking the roof of Siwoo’s mouth one last time, he reluctantly pulled away. His chest tightened at the thought of leaving Siwoo. But he also felt it was fortunate they stopped here. If they had continued a bit longer, it would have been hard to hold back.
“Why are you so thin? I’m worried sick.”
Geonho grabbed Siwoo’s waist and lifted his upper body. Somehow, he seemed even thinner than before. Despite feeding him so well.
“Worry about yourself.”
Siwoo frowned, wiping his tingling mouth with the back of his hand. Geonho’s wavelength that had seeped into his mucous membrane was as tired as Yoo Jihan’s. And that was without even doing field work. Being confined inside must be a big stress.
“I don’t worry about myself.”
Geonho shook his head and stroked the disheveled ends of Siwoo’s hair.
“Once I start, there’s no end. My head will explode.”
He muttered, half-jokingly and half-seriously, as he got up from the bed. He reached out to Siwoo, telling him to come down too, but Siwoo didn’t take his hand.
“Do it anyway.”
His firm blue eyes sparkled resolutely. They were eyes so beautiful that Geonho couldn’t get used to them no matter how often he saw them. Feeling as if he was being swept away by those blue eyes that held the sea, Geonho turned towards Siwoo.
“A person’s head doesn’t explode easily. So worry. Think and agonize.”
Geonho’s pager vibrated again as he stood there in a daze. Siwoo glared at Geonho’s pocket and raised his voice.
“Don’t just rely on your brother.”
Then he suddenly reached into Geonho’s pocket and pulled out the pager. He threw it far out into the hallway.
“I’ll make sure you don’t explode. So you need to make an effort too.”
Geonho reflexively turned his head in the direction where the pager had fallen. His body was still facing Siwoo, but his eyes searched for the distant pager.
Siwoo grabbed Geonho’s hand and pulled him close to the bed. He couldn’t let him go like this.
From the moment he saw Geonho carefully turning the pages of the old picture book with his large, rough hands, a lump formed in his throat. He could imagine the feelings with which Geonho had treasured that picture book.
He probably wants to believe his brother gave it to him.
There was so much Siwoo wanted to tell him. However, he couldn’t bring himself to reveal the stories that Kang Taebeom had hidden, even using his ability. There must be reasons why he kept them hidden.
“You know I’m with you, right? They say time extends when you’re with a guide.”
But was it really necessary to hide things to that extent? Siwoo found it hard to understand. Why was Kang Taebeom trying so hard to distance himself from Kang Geonho? Geonho wasn’t unstable like in the past anymore, and he could surely be controlled sufficiently with mental abilities.
Having become strong enough to establish the Baekya Guild. What exactly was he worried about?
“But still…”
“It’s okay.”
Siwoo led Geonho onto the bed, still mulling over his unresolved questions. He pulled the hesitant large body, continuing to soothe his tired wavelength.
“It’s okay, so come up.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
